[Ankara, 27th Archyde.com]–Finland and Sweden, which have applied for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and Turkey, which has shown opposition, have not made progress, and the timing of future negotiations is unknown. The source revealed.
Finland and Sweden sent a delegation to Ankara on the 25th to persuade Turkey to oppose NATO accession, and held a five-hour discussion.
A senior Turkish government official told Archyde.com yesterday that it was “not an easy process” and that Finland and Sweden would need to take “difficult” steps to win the support of the Turkish government. He further added that he “negotiations are expected to continue, but not set in the near future.”
Another source said Turkey had made no clear progress in the negotiations and ended without a date set, and Turkey at the NATO summit in Madrid on June 29-30. He said he was more likely to express his opposition.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Chabsior said yesterday that Sweden and Finland expect concrete action before Turkey turns its opposition.
A spokesman for the Turkish presidential office said in a meeting with the delegations of Finland and Sweden on the 25th that there was a “positive attitude” toward the lifting of arms exports. Finland and Sweden have been banned from exporting weapons to Turkey after being attacked by Turkey’s People’s Defense Units (YPG) in Syria. The Turkish government equates YPG with its own rebel armed organization, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).